


It Could Be You

by Parklife



Category: Blur, Britpop - Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Bisexuality, M/M, More tags will be added as chapters are uploaded, Mutual Pining, Sexual Confusion, Slow Burn, because what band has enough high school aus, look im thirsty for this pairing, oblivious damon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-02-05
Updated: 2017-05-04
Packaged: 2018-09-22 05:47:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,198
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9586397
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Parklife/pseuds/Parklife
Summary: Alex, new at school, is the most attractive person Damon has ever seen, and Damon doesn't know how to handle this information. In fact, he doesn't even realise that he knows it, so he needs a little help from Dave and Graham.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hey there, some notes about the setting and stuff. I'm Scottish and don't claim to know about anything about England or the locations mentioned so sorry if it's completely inaccurate haha. Also, because I'm Scottish I might use words that I think aren't slang or are only used in Scotland and not England (probably not but just in case) so feel free to comment or hit up google for context. Other than that, the usual thing that I don't own anything to do with Blur or the members, etc and this was just a bit of fun since I've been listening to them a lot recently.

The clear August morning began with the cool post-summer breeze, unbefitting of the start of school after a month of lounging in the sweltering heat by the coast, cashing in money at the ice cream van and trying to perform tricks on bikes then failing horribly. Damon might've been appreciative of the sun in contrast to a typical British autumn morning if he wasn't trying to cram in extra minutes in bed before the inevitable slog to school. The clattering noises coming from the kitchen directly below weren't exactly creating the right environment to go back to sleep however and the smells of breakfast were becoming increasingly attractive to Damon as slumber slipped further out of his grasp. He rolled out of bed, taking half of the duvet with him and slid into his sandals before wandering downstairs.

"Getting dressed might be a good idea before you go to school," his mother joked as she laid his plate on the table and sat in the chair opposite.

"Yeah," Damon mumbled sleepily. "After food." His mother smiled, opening the newspaper next to her plate and sipping at her tea.

"I was at the Parent Council meeting yesterday for school starting again and I saw a new woman there," his mother informed him. Damon made a disinterested noise as he bit into his toast. "So it looks like you'll be getting a new classmate this year," she finished.

"Cool," Damon replied, crunching into his toast again. He was too tired to process the information and it drifted into the depths of his mind as he got dressed and gathered his books and bag. He slung the beaten bag over his shoulder and shouted a goodbye to his mum before leaving the house.

Shutting the door behind him, Damon strolled up the paved driveway, casually watching the early joggers in the park across from his house. The park was also a place that Damon had spent much of his summer with his friends, Dave and Graham. Something about people-watching and messing around on the grass had always been enjoyable to Damon and the uncomfortable heat that swept through the park as they had fun was a necessity for a good summer in his books. The school wasn't too far from Damon's house and the walk  was calming due to the gentle wind skirting around his legs and bony ankles, where his jeans stopped mid-shin and he wore brown loafers without socks. He met up with Graham partway, comparing their new timetables and complaining about some of the teachers that they were now stuck with.

"Listen mate, Mrs Brown just... gives me the chills," Graham grimaced.

"I love her, she's mental," Damon laughed in reply. "Makes me wish I took chemistry again this year." The conversation developed into reminiscing the shenanigans of fourth year chemistry which had resulted in more than a few detentions and groundings from his parents but were ultimately worth it for the memories and laughter that they had when Mrs Brown would snap. When Damon and Graham approached the school, they could still see their old chemistry window on the top floor smothered in brown and black marks which had been created by the smoke from one of their plots. At least they made it stand out from the rest of the dreary building.

"Hey," Dave greeted with a smile when they approached. He leaned against the railing next to the gates, rifling through his bag for something. "Mind coming to the office with me? I think I must've lost my timetable in my room somewhere during the holiday." Graham chuckled at Dave's hopelessness and followed after him. Damon also grinned and ambled a few paces behind the two.  Girls threw Damon both shy and confident looks in a beg for attention from him, which he answered with his killer smile occasionally with a wink thrown in the mix. He never had an interest in any of them, but it was always fun teasing back and he was _bloody_ good at it.

At the office, a student was already at the desk. He was a good few inches taller than Damon, even when not standing up straight. His long legs were bent slightly so that he could see the old woman though the small office window and he picked at the greying paint that was flaking off the frame as the woman languidly sifted through her papers. It was then that Damon recalled his mum telling him of the new student. After collecting his timetable and locker keys, the new boy turned around to leave, revealing a sculpted face full of angles. Sharp cheekbones and a straight jaw line that connected to a square chin. Dark hair, a fringe that fell over one eye more than the other and a wide-necked red top that exposed prominent collarbones.

Damon's breath caught for a second and then the moment was gone. The new student walking away, boots clapping on linoleum flooring. Damon's gaze lingered until the boy was out of sight.

"Damon?" Graham shook him gently, a sly grin on his face. "We're ready to go."

"Right," Damon answered vaguely.

By the time the bell rang and the year was gathered for the mundane lecture by the head teacher about keeping up the school standard, the knowledge of the new student had again, faded from the forefront of his mind.

At least until Dave showed up with him at lunch.

»

Unfortunately, Graham and Damon had been separated into different physics classes this year, and since Dave didn't study physics, Graham was left alone. It wasn't too bad. Everyone liked him well enough but he wasn't particularly close to anyone outside of Dave and Damon. At least he was one of the first in class, giving him a pick of a decent seat. Usually one would take the back row in this scenario, but Graham caught sight of a familiar boy sitting at the end of a row in the middle. It clicked that this was the boy from the office earlier on and Graham approached to sit next to him, remembering Damon's succinct look of wonder when  he saw this boy's face. Of course Damon would be completely oblivious as to what he was experiencing but Graham could instantly recognise that Damon was attracted to this new student. Graham could understand why after getting close enough. The boy had a handsome face, Graham could admit even if he wasn't interested in males.

The boy's dark eyes were glinting and a faint smile was visible as he flicked  through the physics programme for the year. "Hey," Graham said softly. The boy started, clearly absorbed in his reading.

He gave a polite smile in response, "Hi." His voice was smooth and slightly deeper than expected.

"Mind if I sit next to you? I'm Graham."

"'Course not, and I'm Alex," the boy answered, flicking his fringe back slightly. Graham smiled. Alex seemed nice enough and Graham could understand how it could be difficult to try and fit into a new school, especially in their second last year. So he made an effort to make Alex feel welcome and, if he was lucky, Graham could scope him out to find out if he was good enough for Damon. The two chatted, mostly about physics and school until the teacher arrived, after which they still continued quiet conversations in between doing equations. The double period first thing on Monday, might've killed Graham if he were sat with classmates who were a little less capable than he was but he quickly learned that Alex was extremely competent at physics and was flying through the work. A good sign, Graham noted on the side. By the end of the two periods, the boys were pretty well acquainted and Graham considered that a mission success, hoping to catch up with Alex at break and maybe bring him to sit with Damon for lunch. However, when the bell rang, Alex apologised and excused himself, disappearing for the entirety of break. Perhaps to sort out more school paperwork, after which Graham didn't share anymore classes with him until after lunch.

Feeling less confident in his plan now, Graham was slightly disappointed when he sat next to Dave in history when break finished.

"What's up with you then?" Dave asked suspiciously. Graham frowned and told Dave of his scheme that had fallen apart now.

"Oh," Dave said. A few moments passed in silence before he spoke up again. "What did you say he was in next again?"

"Eh, I think it was computing science," Graham recited, trying to recall what Alex told him about his timetable during physics. It suddenly hit Graham what Dave was getting at and he perked up, "Which is what you're in next!"

"Well done," Dave laughed, grinning. "I'll see what I can do, although I never saw Damon as the kind of guy to be interested in blokes."

"I don't think he does either," Graham commented with a smirk before their teacher promptly told them to shut up.

»

Dave was swift in snagging the seat next to Alex and smoothly introducing himself.

"A friend of Graham's then?" Alex guessed.

"Yep," Dave beamed back. To Dave, Alex seemed like that guy who looked like he would kill you if you looked at him wrong but in reality was just a massive nerd. He was taking physics and computing for fuck's sake. 

They hit off okay and Dave had to force his way into getting Alex to respond to him sometimes but he could also understand that the guy was probably pretty nervous and was also trying to figure out what Dave and Graham were like, and whether or not he actually wanted to hang out with him. Dave couldn't possibly get to know Alex well enough in one period to have a clear picture of his character but he was decent so far at the very least, and hopefully this time he could see for himself Damon's face when he brings Alex over at lunch, because Dave was quite keen on being able to see Damon lose his cocky and confident side for an instant as he's blown away by this new boy. It was such a cliché trope that happened in all of those rom-com films his mum watched, but Dave would enjoy every second of it.

»

Lunch rolled around and whilst maths was a subject that Damon had an affinity for, he certainly didn't enjoy Mr Gillespie coming in depressed from his money being gambled away over the holiday and brushing the class off. Damon shuffled to the lunch table that he, Graham and Dave had claimed back in first year. Graham was already there looking strangely smug.

"And what's with that look on your face?" Damon laughed when he sat down.

Graham seemed to catch himself and quickly stopped himself from smirking. "Oh nothing," he waved Damon off, to which Damon raised an eyebrow curiously. Graham changed the conversation and Damon simpered as he listed off the amount of looks that he'd already received from girls and boys alike on the first day. "Yeah, well, they're all looking to be the lucky one you take to the winter dance this year," Graham rolled his eyes amusedly.

"Or _maybe_ we can ditch it this year since it's shite," Damon suggested with a pleading but light-hearted tone.

It was then that Dave sauntered over cockily with a figure shadowing over him. Damon looked up to meet the figure's eyes and was fleetingly lost in the deep brown irises, before rapidly recovering and turning his gaze to Dave.

"Who's this then?" Damon wasn't sure what  made him lose his composure like that but it was going to get old very fast. Unbeknownst to Damon, Graham didn't miss Damon's stunned face for that split-second and grinned coyly at his tray of food. Damon clearly had no idea what it was, and it was _brilliant_.

"Alex James," Alex introduced himself with a hand raised in greeting. Damon sniffed, suddenly unimpressed with this new student. He felt strange when he saw Alex, and Damon didn't think it was in a good way. When he looked up at Alex again and took in his characteristics, Damon decided that he was difficult to look at with all of his angular features. Alex offered an awkward smile when Damon stared and didn't respond.

Graham cut in when he realised that something was going awry and Damon wasn't going to return the introduction. "The prick is Damon. Feel free to sit down." Alex smirked and pulled a chair from an empty table next to theirs to sit with the rest of the group. Damon ignored the rib since Alex was there and turned back to his food, concluding that he wasn't too enthusiastic about this new addition. Alex however smiled and engaged himself in deep conversation with Graham and Dave.

Damon was left to his thoughts, pondering why he was left uneasy by Alex but struggling to produce an answer. He went through what he knew about Alex to try and sort his thoughts. Alex was tall, definitely over six foot, which annoyed Damon slightly, who was only five foot eleven. Alex was slender and had slim, dexterous fingers which would drum quiet rhythms on the edge of the table. Alex was hard to look at but it wasn't because he was unsightly. Alex was most likely anxious about transferring to a new school and Damon almost certainly wasn't helping by ignoring him. So far, out of everything he knew about Alex, he really couldn't come up with anything as to why he didn't like the boy but there was still something nagging at him inside.

"Damon?" The high pitched voice was unrecognisable to Damon and he glanced up from his food to see a girl at his side. The conversation halted at the table. "Um.. I was wondering..." She was anxious and trailed off whilst fidgeting with her sleeve. Her looks were mediocre at best, but Damon was glad to see anyone's face that wasn't Alex and was more than eager to flirt back with a girl until she suddenly froze as if she observed something horrifying and ran away. Damon was almost ready to be offended as he turned his attention back to the table before he saw hard glares slip off of Graham and Dave's faces. Damon was unsure about what just happened but Dave and Graham were already picking up their conversation with Alex, who looked equally as confused as Damon.

»

Damon didn't see Alex again for the rest of the day and he walked home with mixed feelings towards the boy. There was something about him that he just couldn't place and it dug under his skin. As soon as he was home, he went straight to his room and collapsed onto his bed, suddenly exhausted from the day. He reached over and yanked open the drawer of his bedside unit, taking out a Polaroid of his recent ex-girlfriend Justine and fell asleep not long after staring at it absently.

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Turns out Damon isn't friends with everyone. And they haven't taken a liking to Alex either.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Eh basically again just note that I don't know anything about their actual families tbh so it's all made up. I've also got some time off school next week which hopefully means longer, more fleshed out and, if I'm in a particularly good mood, better written chapters lmao. Also I'm so sorry for the fic's general summary, it's so bad omg. I'm going to try and come up with something better soon haha

Alex stayed out after school, drifting through the suburbs to delay going home. Throughout the area, most of the houses were uniform, but they all had a pretty beach-like aesthetic due to their closeness to the coast. Alex never really had the chance to hang out at the beach during the summer since he hadn't met anyone from school yet and most of his time was spent stripping wallpaper in the house and moving boxes. This summer, he was actually more excited for since he seemed to be blending into the new school life fairly easily. Except that was still another whole year away and he'd need to make it through that first.

The dusk threw out a warm orange light that stretched down the quiet streets and pink ribbons of clouds settled on the horizon by the time he wandered back home. Very picturesque Alex thought to himself. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a box of cigarettes that was bashed in on one corner. A click of his lighter and then Alex was watching the smoke curling up, catching the light occasionally. He wasn't good at metaphors but maybe for English he could write something about how it was representative of how fleeting his time in Reading was before moving here to Boscombe or some bullshit. It'd be a change from reciting the story of how his father was relocated for his job to every teacher and student that asked him today. Tomorrow maybe he'd add a little spin on it. Make it more exciting for himself. Maybe he'd come up with some big fantasy rumour with Graham in physics once they finished the work ahead of everyone. Dave could add in some of the humorous details in computing and then in media studies maybe Damon could-

Or maybe he wouldn't ask Damon. Alex didn't know what to think of him yet. His first impression at the office was that Damon was possibly fancied him. The scene was lifted straight out of a god damn film the way their eyes met. But then Damon totally blew him off at lunch and Alex had no idea what to make of that. He'd definitely take the romance version though. Damon was hot and all he'd heard in class all day were girls gushing about him and their dreams that he'd ask them to go to the winter dance. That probably meant he was straight though, and boy, _that_ would be awkward when it got to the First Kiss scene.

Alex stamped the cigarette out just before his house gates, knowing his mum didn't like the habit that he'd picked up. He was greeted by the neighbouring home's cat when he approached the front steps. It rubbed against his leg and then tried to eat the flowers that lined the stairs. Alex leaned down to stroke its little grey head and save his mother's roses.

His key in the old lock alerted the family of his presence, but only him mum and little brother answered. Nothing from his dad. Yikes. Looks like he was still wasn't comfortable with Alex.

"Hello!" His mother called out. She and his little brother, Joshua were lounging in the living room. The room itself wasn't particularly sizeable, but it had a high ceiling that made it difficult for the radiators to heat the space. They hadn't gotten around to stripping the gaudy 60s wallpaper yet, but it was already peeling off itself from age. He sat between his mum and Joshua on the patterned couch. It was Alex's favourite thing about the entire house just now because nothing was worse than the god awful squeaking of that murky green leather couch that the previous owners had left behind. They'd had it for weeks and it was only recently that it was finally chucked for something better. His mum pulled him in next to her side with an arm over his shoulder and he caught sight of his dad sitting with a paper at the dinner table to the left.

Joshua saw Alex's uneasy look at their dad and smirked mischievously. "So!" Joshua said in an exaggeratedly loud voice and Alex knew what was coming next but had no time to throttle him before it happened. "How was school? Did you see any blokes that you wanted to make out with?" Joshua's eyes twinkled and Alex could hear the crisp sound of the paper crunching when his dad gripped it just that bit tighter. Alex risked a sideways glance to his father, noticing that his brow was more furrowed than before and Alex was more than eager to pretend that he'd just read about his favourite football team losing a match.

His mother nonchalantly batted her hand in Joshua's direction, arms too short to reach him properly. "Shush _,_ Josh, Alex was just drunk that night."

His mother hadn't taken his announcement seriously at all last week. It was true that he had drank that evening, but it was to garner the courage to even come out in the first place. Liquid confidence it was called. After the initial moments of silence when he uttered the forbidden words, 'I'm gay', his mother had pointed at the bottle still in his right hand, trying to placate his father and reason that Alex was completely wasted. It seemed to work for the most part but in the past days since then, his father had still been on edge about the issue, as if still suspicious and it created a rift between the two of them. Joshua helpfully supplied that it might be the haircut when it turned out that he was listening on the stairs and Alex had slapped him on the back of the head and retreated to his room.

He did the same after Josh came out with that comment on the sofa.

»

English was his first class on Tuesday and it seemed that perhaps he and Graham wouldn't need to construct an interesting rumour because there were apparently other reasons that people would want to talk about Alex. Today, he found out that these reasons were known as the Gallaghers and their gormless friends .

Alex was already at his desk before the start of class, cigarette dangling from his lips and occasionally looking over to where Damon was sitting. He was leaning over his desk, artfully avoiding the chewing gum stuck to it and talking to another boy in the class. He was quite close to the other boy's face, closing in and smiling flirtingly, drawing whispers from prying classmates and colouring the other boy's cheeks with a bright red. Alex might've been  interested in Damon's apparent attraction to boys if he couldn't see that this was clearly a show for Damon's own amusement.

"Don't get jealous now." It was a malicious snicker in Alex's direction and a body sat itself on top of his desk, another three figures surrounding him. The boy on his desk leered down at him superciliously. "I saw you've been following Damon's group since yesterday. Just because he lets you hang out with him doesn't mean he'll snog you."

The class quietened to listen to the exchange and Alex couldn't help but snigger at the situation. First he and Damon had some sort of love-hate thing going on and now he was faced with some bullies. Jesus. The boy on the desk looked both confused and disgusted by Alex, probably expecting to provoke him with that. Alex calmed and took a drag from his cigarette, blowing smoke into the other's face.

"What the fuck?!" The boy spluttered when he breathed it in, climbing off the desk, "Nasty little creep." Alex stood up to alert the boy, that he was in fact, several inches taller. It made him back off slightly, and he threw a dirty look at Alex, going back to his seat, ranting noisily to his friends and other classmates about 'that freak who's not worth his time'.

Alex sat back down again too and desperately wanted to look at Damon, but not wanting to stare. They weren't even friends. He gave into curiosity however which lead to some uncomfortable eye-contact since Damon was already examining at him. Alex couldn't quite read the expression on Damon's face and he had to pull his eyes away when the teacher came in and sternly told him to put out his cigarette. He did so and pushed his hair back, letting it fall down in a different way over his face and he could still feel the presence of Damon's gaze. This time however, he didn't gaze back.

»

Graham was a traitor. An amazing friend, but currently a traitor. Dave wasn't in media studies class with him and Graham, so it was _natural_ that they'd partner together. Except they didn't. Because Graham left him for Essy. Now, she was lovely, and Graham obviously didn't realise that their crushes were mutual, so Damon never _actually_ expected him to talk to her. Damon rationalised that he was (probably) overreacting and it was a good thing that Graham was building that confidence to speak to her now, but he was also Damon's only saving grace from being partners with someone who was aching to date him.

Damon did love dating, but he also knew that there were quite a handful of girls who were only interested in his looks. Which he really could not deal with. And now with Graham and Essy, Damon really only had to count the seconds before a scary female sat down in the chair next to him, excited for the next week at each other's houses after school for this crap project. The conversations around him mixed together and he thought he could make out Graham's voice urging someone else excitedly, whilst the other voice seemed not so enthusiastic. The second voice got closer but Damon wasn't really paying attention as he braced himself for a girl to grab his arm when she sat down.

And then someone sat down, with soft brown hair and a tall, slim frame. Damon caught himself when he actually looked at the person. Did he just compliment Alex?

"Hey," Alex dropped his bag to the ground, his yellow cardigan slipping off his shoulder slightly when the bag strap fell.

"Eh... hi," Damon found it difficult to breath and he now felt that maybe he'd even rather a scary female instead of Alex.

"You know..." Alex started, eyeing Damon with a bit of a grin, "communication is kind of a two way street."

Right. There was no reason for Damon to feel so strange around Alex. Alex had already become friends with Graham and Dave, so he had to at least _try_ to get along with him. It's not like he even had a reason not to like Alex. He just felt so bizarre when he was around the other boy.

"Sure. Sorry," Damon looked sheepish and tried to open up with his winning smile, to which Alex responded with one of his own and Damon felt an odd pang in his abdomen. Maybe it was because Alex looked like a heartthrob too? That he might become more popular than Damon? But he knew that was all wrong because, whilst Damon spent the majority of classes flirting, it wasn't as if he thrived on it or anything. Well, he'd put it behind him just now in an effort to get this partnership to work. God knows what was up with the whole Alex situation anyway. "So, should we start working on this tonight?"

Alex shrugged, happy that he'd finally managed to get Damon to speak to him, "It's probably not a good time for you to go back to my place with me just now." That interested Damon. That the hell was that supposed to mean?

"Then we can go to my place after school. We're both in humanities last right?" Damon pushed his chair back slightly to stretch out his legs without kicking the chair in the row in front. Alex nodded and pulled out his notebook and wrote both he and Damon's project ideas in a messy scrawl. Damon was still turning over what Alex had said earlier in his mind. Why wasn't his house a good place to go to right now? Was he mistreated? Did his family have a fight? Or was the house simply just a mess since they'd only recently moved in? It wasn't really Damon's place to analyse Alex's home circumstances but he was still curious.

»

"So," Alex drawled to Graham at the table. "What was that stunt in media studies all about?" Damon and Dave still hadn't come into the canteen so Alex didn't feel nervous to bring it up with Graham.

Graham looked up with a faux-innocence, "What? I just wanted to talk to Essy." Alex narrowed his eyes sarcastically and Graham looked entirely too pleased with himself. 

"You're up to something, you sneaky prick," Alex commented whilst pulling out a cigarette.

Graham unwrapped sandwiches, cling film having squashed them together. He looked at them slightly disgustedly and spoke again, "You're accusing me based on nothing." To which Alex really couldn't argue so dropped the issue without much more resistance.

"Do you ever actually eat anything?" Damon sat next to Graham and the question was directed at Alex, which threw him slightly, as he for some reason, seemed to open up incredibly quickly since media studies even if there was still an uncertainty in his eyes.

"I smoke?" Alex offered back. Graham snorted, picking at the seeds in his bread. "I'll probably steal the cheese from Graham's sandwiches if he's not going to eat them."

"I am!" Graham defended however made no effort to actually do so.

"So Damon, who were the pricks earlier that thought they were funny?" Alex asked, remembering the fuss in English.

"Liam Gallagher and his mental friends."

"They've had it in for Damon since first year," Graham piped up.

"I don't even know what I did," Damon shrugged bemusedly and pushed Graham's sandwiches towards Alex as he was obviously not going to have them. Graham began to protest. "You're not eating them anyway," Damon laughed.

"I was saving them," Graham sniffed dramatically. "Anyway, Essy and I are going to get ahead on the project and head up to the library for the rest of lunch. See you later." Alex and Damon waved him off before turning back to each other.

Graham had softened the atmosphere around them, allowing the two to slip into easy conversation about various meaningless subjects. They were in the middle of discussing Alex's regret from younger years of why it really hadn't been a good idea to ride his bike with Joshua on his back down the massive hill that was the high street near his house in Reading when Damon started to get weird with him again. There were still fifteen minutes before their next class but Damon had gotten agitated and decided to go up to maths early, leaving Alex with nothing but now cheese-less sandwiches.

»

Damon sat down in maths, heart beating rather quickly. Although he'd never been to Reading, Damon and Justine had rode around on a single bike like that through the evening breezes of summer before she broke up with him. He really hadn't recovered from the break-up but he didn't exactly have an excuse for leaving Alex back there either. Damon and Justine used to go to the same café for dates and after they split, Damon would still go with Graham without feeling any sort of pain. So why was Alex different? He really couldn't work it out but he knew he wanted it sorted. Alex genuinely seemed like someone Damon would love to get on with but there was just _something_ that was stopping him. Like some sort of invisible wall between them that Damon just couldn't break down. Graham would know. He'd try and surreptitiously talk to him at the end of the day before taking Alex back to his house and working on the project, hopefully without any further incidents.

 

 

                                                                                                                                                                           


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh look a sudden update the day before my exam when I had plenty of free time before -_-. Anyways, first thing to note is that I changed something Liam said in chapter 2 (its minor so I'll just say here in case you don't want to look back: he previously made a homophobic comment as he walked away which has been changed to 'that freak who wasn't worth his time'.) Its been done for... plot reasons. Sorry that this chapter is a bit shorter but enjoy:]

"Graham please, he's _killing_ me," Damon pleaded with wide eyes, grabbing onto Graham's wrist to stop him leaving. He'd managed to catch the other boy in the main entrance  before he met up with Essy.

Graham sighed and looked apologetic, "Look, I don't really want to interfere. I want you to work this out for yourself." Graham broke eye contact to look down to the side. Damon let go of his wrist.

"Meaning that you probably know what's going on," Damon commented. He followed Graham's gaze to the dirtied school welcome mat, coated in varying sizes of footprints.

"I'm not trying to be a wanker about it - really. Just... I don't think it's really my place to tell you," Graham met his eyes again and smiled weakly. He hastily patted Damon on the shoulder comfortingly and rushed to Essy when he caught sight of her. Damon exhaled noisily and toed the mat, the tip of his boot squishing into a particularly sizeable chunk of mud. A breeze came in through the open front doors, making him shiver as it hit exposed skin around his ankles and arms.

"Hey!" Alex had come up behind him without warning, voice loud and silvery. Damon spun around at the surprise, feet slipping on the mat and out from under him. Alex was fast to react, pulling Damon back up by the forearm and causing him to fall into Alex's chest. "Romantic," Alex smirked amusedly when their eyes met. Damon scrabbled to get away sneering at Alex jokingly to hide his bewilderment and red cheeks. With a grin, Alex left through the front doors, leaving Damon to catch up at his own pace.

They walked to Damon's house, keeping up a conversation the whole way, which Damon was quite proud of. It also allowed him an excuse to constantly stare at Alex, although he wasn't sure why he felt the need to. That did result in him walking straight into a lamppost however. Alex had howled for minutes after that, commenting how it was like straight out of a cartoon, and Damon wasn't as annoyed as he thought he should be which may have been to do with how sunny and ebullient Alex's laugh was. His eyes were smiling as he grinned and his nose crinkled delightfully. Of course Damon never acknowledged these facts, but they still made the inside of his chest feel warm.

Alex calmed with a long sigh and Damon was suddenly reminded of the way he handled Liam during class. "It was kind of cool the way you handled those prinks, you know," Damon commented. It was usually against his personal rules to give compliments to a guy like that but the scene in English was a sight to behold.

Alex perked up in return, unexpected by the turn in conversation, giving a lopsided smile. "Cheers," he laughed, "but they really weren't that much. It's hard to be intimidated when you're taller than everyone."

Damon chuckled in return, directing Alex into the front garden of the next house. A sudden wave of nervousness hit Damon about letting Alex into his house. What would his parents be like around Alex? Wait, he didn't clean his room. He shook himself from these thoughts, berating himself for being so anxious. It wasn't even like he was taking a girl home. It was just Alex.

"Are we going in or are you planning to kiss me first or something?"

 _"What!?"_ Damon cried. A furious blush spreading over the bridge of his nose. The sentence caught him off guard enough since he was lost in thought and didn't realise he'd stopped unlocking the door, but the sudden flirting was so strange that he wasn't sure if he'd just imagined it.

Alex cackled at the panic and confusion that Damon wore. "Honestly, it's so easy to rile you up, mate," Alex's laughter died to a smile, the sun lighting his eyes up. Damon's blush eased slightly, but Alex's eyes were a bit hard to look away from. He was dragged away from them anyway when the front door opened behind him and his mother smiled sweetly and him.

"I thought I heard some laughter out here," she said, opening the door wider to let them in. "Sorry, I don't recognise you, but I did hear about a new student at the PTA..." she trailed off, leaving Alex to answer.

"Yeah, that's me," he grinned. "My name's Alex."

She nodded. "Will you be staying for dinner? I have plenty so it wouldn't be an issue." Damon found himself holding his breath whilst Alex debated.

"That's kind but I don't think my dad would like it," Alex smiled at himself like it was a private joke.

"Ah, well don't worry about it then. I'll let you two get on with what you need to do," she waved it off.

Alex turned to Damon, who led the way to his room. As he feared, it was in a bit of a state. _It's just Alex_ , he reminded himself. To busy himself, Damon reached over to a grey sweater on his bed that had red and blue bands around the sleeves. When he turned back, Alex was looking at him with an expression like he'd been watching.

"Need something?" Damon offered.

"I don't mean to complain but there isn't anywhere to sit," he laughed. _He laughs a lot_ , Damon noted. Damon then registered what Alex said and looked around. He was right - the floor was littered with t-shirts and his bed still had his guitar lying out on it.

"Ah shit, two seconds sorry," Damon carefully grabbed the neck of the guitar and placed it back onto its stand at the foot of his bed.

"Didn't know you played," Alex said.

 _Of course he wouldn't since you always brush him off,_ Damon's mind unhelpfully supplied. "Yeah, I only really fumble around with it. Graham's better."

"Still cool. Prefer the bass myself though."

"You play too?" Damon asked. He wasn't sure why he was so surprised but it made a bit more eager to talk to Alex.

The conversation continued energetically until the assignment drifted back into both of their minds. Damon gave an exaggerated groan, flopping onto his bed. Alex followed, digging up and notebook from his bed and taking his phone from his pocket for research.

»

Alex was extremely involved in the project despite complaining about how boring the subject was. Almost as if he could sense Damon's annoyance at the idea of working and didn't mind picking up the slack. He was a godsend really. Even though Damon would only admit this to himself since he was so tired. His mum had turned on the heating so the room was slightly too warm. Damon was also in the comfort of his favourite sweater and he had to sit so close to Alex to see his phone screen. The combination meant that Damon's eyelids were only getting heavier.

»

Alex was in the middle of writing a sentence that he was particularly proud of when he felt a dull weight against his side. He turned to see Damon, completely asleep against him. Alex smirked, looking appreciatively on Damon's face. He was extremely attractive so Alex had tried to test the waters with some flirting. However, each reaction confirmed that Damon was the poster boy for heterosexuality. Alex found himself thinking about other attractive guys in his classes since Damon was asleep. There were a few in his physics class, maybe one in maths... Liam  was actually pretty good looking too, but after the fiasco in English today, he didn't  get  the greatest first impression. His mind drifted back to Damon however and he glanced down again, the blonde fringe resting over his closed eyes. The heat of his body against Alex was so warm that it actually made him tired as well. The idea of falling asleep with Damon was very appealing, but he knew Damon would freak and Alex wasn't sure if he wanted to risk putting a gap between them again.

Forcing his eyes to open more, Alex focused on the assignment, finishing it as quickly as he could before nudging Damon awake with his shoulder.

"Huh?" Damon blinked blearily from sleep, raising his head. He finally noticed Alex and jerked awake. "Shit, sorry Alex, I didn't mean to fall asleep while we were working."

Alex noticed that there was no embarrassment in his voice, meaning he didn't know he had been leaning on Alex. Probably for the best. "It's cool, I've finished all the writing so I need to get home now," Alex said, shoving everything back into his bag.

Damon frowned and was silent for a few moments before speaking up, "I'll see you tomorrow then I guess."

There was an odd tone in Damon's voice like he was reluctant to let Alex go, but that was just ridiculous. Alex nodded and let himself out the front door.

He was a bit late for dinner by the time he got home but he dropped his bag and toed off his shoes and the door, knowing that his place would be set for him anyway.

"Sorry I'm late," he called as he came from the hall over to the dining table.

Josh smirked at him and his mum smiled. His dad ignored him.

"We've only just started but where were you?" His mum asked curiously.

"We got given an assignment so I went to my partner's house to write it up," Alex replied. Despite it being in the context of assignments, it still made Alex's chest bubble a little at calling Damon his 'partner'. Josh seemed to catch onto this double meaning as well.

"Is that a euphemism for something gay?"

Alex choked, shoving at Josh's arm whilst his mother chastised him. Alex warily glanced at his dad, who remained silent and continued to eat. He knew Josh never meant harm with his comments but the reaction they got from his dad still stung. He just prayed that the meal would continue without any inquiries about his relationship with his 'partner'.

"What? I just kidding, jeez," Josh defended after their mother finished giving him a row. Alex and Josh shared a smirk. Josh and Alex were actually extremely close. He offered Alex solace and safety when he needed to confide in something  that he couldn't tell his parents. He was the first to find out that Alex was gay and was so unbothered by it that Alex wasn't even sure Josh was listening. It meant that after dinner when Alex followed Josh to his room, Josh dropped his usual smirk, knowing his older brother needed someone to keep him grounded.

"Hey, I don't want to accuse since you probably don't realise but..." Alex started, "Just... I don't know what to do about dad. Every time you make a joke, he closes off like he doesn't want to acknowledge that I exist."

Josh looked guilty, obviously recalling the jokes that he'd made previously. "I didn't realise sorry."

Alex gripped Josh's shoulder placatingly. "I'm not blaming you, I just don't know what to do." Alex forced back the tightness in his chest.

"Alexander..." It was rare of Josh to use his name like that. "He'll come around. He just needs to get used to the idea," Josh didn't seem to be totally sure of that himself  but the words were appreciated.

"Thanks Joshua," Alex gave him a hug and retreated to his room.

Alex heaved a sigh once his back hit the mattress. It had been a long day.

The heat of his sheets enveloped him and his mind wandered to what it would be like if he just didn't come home today and just slept next to Damon. The comfort of his body fitting against Alex's side and Damon's head resting on his shoulder. The thought lulled him to sleep despite it still  being early in the night and resulted in some embarrassing dreams.


End file.
